The Flight of the Eagle is a 1982 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell and tells the story of S. A. Andrée's ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole in a hot air balloon. The film is based on real historical events, and many of its details are taken directly from Andrée's diaries and notes.
In the film, we see Andrée, played by Max von Sydow, as a driven and idealistic man who is convinced that he can be the first person to reach the North Pole using a hydrogen balloon. Despite opposition from his colleagues and a lack of funding, Andrée recruits two other men – Knut Fraenkel (Sverre Anker Ousdal) and Nils Strindberg (Goran Stangertz) – to join him on his expedition.
The three men set off from Svalbard in July of 1897, and the film follows their journey as they face one obstacle after another. They are forced to make an emergency landing on an ice floe early in their journey, and from there they struggle to survive in the harsh Arctic environment. They encounter polar bears, suffer from frostbite, and face the constant threat of running out of food and fuel.
As the days and weeks go by, the men begin to lose hope of ever reaching their goal. Andrée becomes increasingly obsessed with his mission, and his sanity begins to unravel. Fraenkel and Strindberg, meanwhile, grow increasingly disillusioned and despondent.
The film reaches its tragic conclusion as the three men perish in the frozen wilderness. Their bodies are eventually discovered by a search party, along with their diaries and photographs. The Flight of the Eagle is a moving and atmospheric depiction of one of history's most daring and tragic expeditions, and it captures the thrill and terror of exploration in the late nineteenth century.